03 November 2016

Take Your Distribution Sales Online

Discussions about eCommerce frequently focus solely on the B2C
market—how retail customers seek, purchase, and review products and
services. However, this adoption of eCommerce has migrated over to B2B
commerce, altering enterprise business models and increasing attention
on online buying.

Because consumers are increasingly comfortable
purchasing products of many types online in their daily lives, they are
now more willing to explore online procurement in business environments.
Business buyers not only have a higher comfort level with eCommerce,
but also higher expectations for a seamless, user-friendly customer
experience.

eCommerce Poses Challenges for Distributors
In the 2014 Distribution Industry Outlook survey by NetSuite (The 2014 Distribution Industry Outlook, NetSuite, 2014),
more intense online competition was cited as a top concern among
respondents. In some cases, distributors were concerned about B2C
companies entering their respective wholesale markets. As a result of
this threat, 36% of respondents indicated that improving eCommerce
capabilities is a top concern, coming in behind revenue growth,
launching new products, and expanding the sales force. Improving
eCommerce functionality was also cited by 40% of respondents as a top
technology priority.

eCommerce challenges for distributors tend to
run the gamut—from displaying product information, images, graphics,
and logos (22%) to deploying adequate technical functionality (46%) (2015 Survey by Advantage Business Media). For those companies that have implemented eCommerce, improving the customer experience is a key objective.

Although
revenue from eCommerce is increasing year over year for the companies
that have enabled online sales, more than half of distributors surveyed
still receive less than 5% of their revenue from online transactions (Gale, Bein, Polletta, Bennett, “2016 State of E-Commerce in Distribution.” Copyright 2016 by Gale Media, Inc.).
However, enterprises can benefit from initiating or expanding their
eCommerce presence, such as the ability to target new geographies and
direct-to-consumer markets. Risks that companies may encounter include
the ability to address geographical nuances and the need to be available
to customers 24x7x365. A poor online customer experience can reflect
poorly on your brand.

Leapfrog Over the Competition!
With
sales transactions moving online more rapidly every year, distributors
must embrace eCommerce to remain competitive. Using the experience of
enterprises that have already ventured into this territory can help you
navigate the learning curve more quickly. You may even be able to
“leapfrog” over competitors by doing things right from the beginning
instead of having to experiment and test incrementally as you go.

In
our opinion, that means first addressing your product information, a
key component for succeeding at online sales, prior to deploying any
eCommerce solution. Having consistent and accurate product information
available to your sales representatives, dealer network, and marketing
channels is an essential part of creating a great customer experience,
building trust with customers, and providing information they are
looking for where and when they want to connect with you.

Put Your Product Information First
Chances
are, “product information management” is already taking place in your
organization, although you may not actually call it that. In fact, your
product information may not be actively or efficiently managed, instead
residing in disparate systems, documents, spreadsheets, and databases. A
lack of proactive management of product information can result in
“information silos” that can affect the quality and timeliness of your
product information. Therefore, identifying all of these sources of
product information and determining how to effectively manage and
maintain it will serve you well as you embark on your eCommerce efforts.

While
poor product content can result in product returns, shopping cart
abandonment, and reduced customer loyalty, a product information
strategy can provide a number of benefits. By putting your product
information first and making it central to your eCommerce initiative,
you can increase the confidence of the sales organization and customers
in your online information, provide control over information displayed
on channel sites, and improve the efficiency of your go-to-market
process. In addition, as you deploy additional systems to enable
eCommerce and web content management, making use of your information
will be organized and easy.